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Independent developers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are heading to Gamescom this year with the second annual installment of the Indie Arena, a showcase of games from smaller studios across those regions. Games due to display this year include The Last Tinker from Mimimi, The Masterplan from Shark Punch, Mercury Shift from Klonk, Beatbuddy iOS from Threaks, Schein from Zeppelin Studio and Paperbound from Dissident Logic.

The Indie Arena is in Hall 9, booth A-032. Last year the Indie Arena featured games to play, developers to talk to and walls to write on. There's a bit of overlap between Indie Arena and the Indie Megabooth, which is making its glorious Gamescom debut this year. Double the indie booths, double the fun.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AustriagamesCOMgamescom-2014germanyIndieindie-arenaswitzerlandTue, 05 Aug 2014 15:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/18/xbox-one-rolling-to-26-new-regions-in-september/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/18/xbox-one-rolling-to-26-new-regions-in-september/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/18/xbox-one-rolling-to-26-new-regions-in-september/#comments
Microsoft plans to bring the Xbox One to 26 more markets in September, eight of which were in the original plans for the console's November 2013 launch. Those eight territories, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland, were cut from the first run in August, at which point Microsoft scaled its launch plans back to 13 regions.

Head past the break to see the list of the other 18 regions the system will arrive in come September.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>artfestival-arbres-et-lumieresPac-ManswitzerlandWed, 01 Dec 2010 02:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/06/proposed-swiss-game-ban-detailed-wont-target-all-violent-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/06/proposed-swiss-game-ban-detailed-wont-target-all-violent-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/06/proposed-swiss-game-ban-detailed-wont-target-all-violent-games/#comments
Until very recently, there had been a massive void in our knowledge about the violent game-banning bill which was recently ratified by Switzerland's National Council. With language stating it would outlaw the sale of games featuring "cruel acts of violence against humans and human-like creatures for in-game success," we feared it would constitute a ban on, like, everything. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case -- Swiss politician Evi Allemann recently explained in an interview with Swiss news site 20 Minutes (via GamePolitics) that the bill would only affect around 12 "individual games" with extremely graphic content, such as Manhunt and Mortal Kombat.

Allemann commented that PEGI is "not enough," stating that Switzerland or even Europe needs its own body for video game ratings. Apparently, not everyone agrees -- the 20 Minutes article includes a link to a petition against the bill, as well as its adjoining measure which would outlaw the sale of PEGI 16 or 18 games to minors. We'd like to remind these petitioners that Swiss 16-year-olds can legally drink beer, so hey, let's not get greedy.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banbanningmanhuntmortal-kombatnational-councilpegipoliticsswissswitzerlandviolenceTue, 06 Apr 2010 11:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/24/proposal-in-swiss-government-could-ban-violent-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/24/proposal-in-swiss-government-could-ban-violent-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/24/proposal-in-swiss-government-could-ban-violent-games/#comments
According to a report out of consonant-heavy Swiss gaming site GamesMarkt, Switzerland's parliament recently passed a law that could lead to an across the board ban on "violent" games being sold in the country. Apparently a proposal was inked last month that aimed to remove games which require "cruel acts of violence against humans and human-like creatures for in-game success" -- a proposal that has apparently been passed by the Swiss National Council.

Since the initial proposal has passed, it's said to now be up to the Swiss parliament exactly how the law is enacted. If you're a Swiss gamer interested in challenging the new law, we encourage you to contact local politicians, as GamesIndustry.biz points out that "citizens are able to challenge any new law passed by parliament if they can show sufficient opposition to it." Given the petitions we've seen some of you get into, we're hoping this one will be a no brainer.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banlawparliamentpetitionswiss-national-councilswitzerlandviolenceviolent-game-billWed, 24 Mar 2010 01:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/07/xbox-live-video-marketplace-coming-to-10-more-countries-this-fa/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/07/xbox-live-video-marketplace-coming-to-10-more-countries-this-fa/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/07/xbox-live-video-marketplace-coming-to-10-more-countries-this-fa/#comments
As far as we know, the kind of laziness which prevents you from visiting the nearest Blockbuster Video is a worldwide phenomenon. According to a press release (.doc link) dropped just in time for CES, Microsoft is catering to this global lethargy by opening up the Xbox Live Video Marketplace to ten more countries this fall: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Australia and New Zealand.

Basically, if the Xbox Live Video Marketplace was playing Risk, it'd have a kickass lock on the Eastern Hemisphere.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>australiaaustriabelgiumces-2009denmarkeuropefinlandMicrosoftnetherlandsnew-zealandnorwayswedenswitzerlandvideo-marketplaceXbox-360xbox-liveThu, 07 Jan 2010 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/25/study-finds-unique-gaming-disease-playstation-palmar-hidradenit/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/25/study-finds-unique-gaming-disease-playstation-palmar-hidradenit/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/25/study-finds-unique-gaming-disease-playstation-palmar-hidradenit/#comments
Based on a report from BBC, it would appear researchers have discovered a disease that has hitherto gone undiagnosed by modern medicine: PlayStation palmar hidradenitis. As one might imagine, it has something to do with "PlayStation" and the "palms of your hands." See, using that controller is not only killing your (virtual) enemies, it's also killing you.

According to the report, researchers emphasized the case of one 12-year-old girl who arrived at Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland with sores on her palms. She had recently struck up a fascination with a PlayStation game (sorry, the exact title isn't mentioned) and despite developing these sores, continued to play. That's when her folks brought her to the hospital. After 10 days of abstaining from the deadly activity, however, she was sore free! We're sorry, but we wouldn't call that "PlayStation palmar hidradenitis." We'd probably call it: Stop squeezing the controller like you want to break it!

Our favorite line in the entire piece has to be this: "For the disorder to only affect the hands is very unusual." So, wait, you're telling us it's unusual for this so-called disease, the one that comes from using a game controller, to only affect the hands? What other body parts are interacting with your controller?